Rowing device



1964 J. A. KASHEW ROWING DEVICE Filed Sept. 12, 1962 INVENTOR. (b h n 2.KQSZ? ew United States Patent 3,156,934 ROWING DEVICE John A. Kashew,Chicago, 111., assignor to John W. Sereda, Chicago, lill. Filed ept. 12,1962, Ser. No. 22$,tl52 2 Claims. (Cl. 9-25) This invention relates to anovel rowing device and in particular relates to a novel oarconstruction the primary object of which is to permit a boat to be rowedor propelled in the same direction as the rower faces, even though thelatter exerts the normal pull rather than push on the oar handles.

Another object of this invention is to provide an oar construction inwhich the blade of the oar moves in the same relative direction as thepush or pull exerted by the oar handle.

Another object of this invention is to provide an oar construction whichwill permit the rower to propel the boat in the direction in which he isfacing so that he can always see where he is going and determine whatobstacles are in the path of the boat.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a simple andeffective rowing mechanism so constructed and arranged that the rowercan sit facing the bow of the boat as he manipulates such mechanism.

It is also a further object of this invention to provide a mechanism ofthis type in which the blade portion of the oar can be folded up closelyto the sides of the boat or the same readily detached from the side ofthe boat and collapsed when desired.

It is another object of this invention to provide an oar having a bladeportion and a handle portion such that the blade portion will bereeiprocated in the same directions to the movements of the handleportion providing a divided oar member, such divided oar member beingpivotally journaled on the gunwale guide or support of the boat.

It is another object of this invention to provide a rowing mechanismwhereby the oar is pivotally mounted to permit the rower to face the bowand to provide easy raising and lowering of the oar into the water toobtain maximum push or pull of the boat due to proper inclina tion ofthe blade with respect to the boat and its position in the water.

Another object of this invention is to provide a bowfacing oarlock inwhich the plane of the blade of the oar during its movement through thewater will be perpendicular to the surface of the water so thatpractically all of the energy applied thereto will be utilized inpropelling the boat.

I ly by means of a rearward pull on the oars.

Another object of this invention is to propel a novel oar structuredesigned for either forward or backward rowing and readily convertiblefrom one type to the other.

Another object of this invention is to provide an oar structure for bothforward and backward rowing, and in which the necessary up-and-downangular movement of the oar for dipping the blade into and lifting itfrom the water is provided in either of the manners of use of the oar.

Another object of the invention is to provide an oar of the above kindthat is of simplified, yet durable, construction and especiallydesirable for pleasure craft.

3,156,934 Patented Nov. 17, 1964 ice 1 Other objects of the inventionreside in the details of construction of parts, in their combination andmode of use, as will hereinafter be fully described. However, it is tobe understood that changes in size and proportion of parts may be madeand various materials may be employed in their construction Withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, and therefore it is notdesired that the claims appended hereto shall be limited in this respectbut they shall be given an interpretation that is commensurate with thescope of the invention disclosed herein.

In accomplishing the above-listed and other objects of the invention, Ihave provided the improved details of construction, the preferred formof which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional top view of a row boat, employing my novelrowing mechanism;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view illustrating my novel rowingmechanism or construction for the right side of the boat;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of the novel rowing mechanism in a lockedor out-of-use position;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the right side of the boatlooking from the inside out and taken along line 44 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is an outside perspective View of the right side of a portionof the boat and illustrating the novel mounting mechanism for my noveloar or rowing construction; and

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 6-6 ofFIGURE 5 and illustrating the oar fastening mechanism.

With reference now to the drawings there is shown a rowboat, generallyindicated as 1, having stern 2, port side 3, starboard side 4, and bowportion 5 (not shown completely), the boat 1 having port and starboardgunwales 6 and 7 mounting rowing devices or oar mechanisms 8 and 9 byoar lock structures 10 and 11 between the operators or rowers seats 12and 13. In this respect it will be noted that though the rowingstructures 8 and 9 are mounted toward the stern 2 they can be mountedalso toward the bow 5 of the boat 1 as well. The oar devices 8 and 9 areidentical in all respects and therefore discussion will be limited tothe right or starboard oar structure 9 which comprises a blade portion14 and a handle portion 15, the blade portion 14 having a blade 16 atthe outer end and an inner gear portion 17 at the inner end having acluster of teeth 18 circumferentially about a greater outer peripheralportion of gear 17, gear 17 being attached to blade element 14 by boltmeans 20. The gear 17 has coupled to its upper surface 21 one end 21a ofa link or plate 22 by bolt means 23 and gear 17 meshes with gear teeth24 circumferentially arranged on gear portion 25 as in the case of gearportion 17 and the link 22 has its other end 26 connected to top surface27 of gear 25 by bolt means 28, gear 25 being coupled to handle part 15by bolts means 29. It is to be noted that the bolts 28 and 23 present acentral pivot for their respective gears 17 and 25, each gear 17 and 25rotating about its bolt 23 and 28 while their teeth 18 and 24 interlockor mesh with one another permitting the gear sections 17, 25 to carrycoupled parts 14 and 15 together in unison in a forward or rearwarddirection. The bolts 23 and 28 present fixed pivots in that each passesthrough gears 17 and 25 and each passes through respective flanges orears 31 and 30 of oar carriage plate or element 32 which supports theoar structure 9 carried in look or bed 11 secured on the starboardgunwale 7.

The flanges or tabs 30 and 31 which carry or support the gear sections25 and 17, are joined with the elongated U-shaped plate portion 33 ofmember 32 having a pair areas-ea of depending journal parts 34 and 35apertured with openings 32a, 32b to present a pair of journals forelongated shaft 36 reciprocally mounted and rotatively journaledtherein'and limited in horizontal fore and aft shifting movement by pin37 extending outwardly of shaft or beating rod 36. The shaft or key 36in elevational view as seen in FIGURE 4 has at its right end an arm orhandle 37a extending generally outwardly and somewhat slightlydownwardly and at right angles to shaft portion 38 of key 36. The key 36is generally cylindrical or circular in its shape throughout but as seenin FIG- URE 4 is provided with a ground flat or slotted portion 40having 180 apart flat sides 41 and 42 disposed be tween trunnionportions 34 and 35 and has at its left end outwardly of trunnion 34another flat 45 having 180 apart fiat sides 43 and 44.

, ment 11 and upright ears or trunnions 5.4 and 55 spaced apredetermined distance apart from one another to allow depending ears 34and 35 of plate or brace 32 to be spaced within as shown in FIGURE 4,the upright trunnions d and 55 each having a respective pin cradle orkey cradle or slot 56 and 57 respectively, the slots or keyways 56, 5'7having each a pair of upright walls 53, 53 and a semicircular orcrescent shaped surface 62, 62 respectively,

' the surfaces 62, 62 being journals for the rotatable key or shaft 36as seen in FIGURE 4 and the handle 37a being entrained in slot 63 formedbetween upright 54 and upright detent or stop 64 on flat 52 of 'ofL-shaped member 50 gf'the oar catch 11.

The link 22 has a drilled hole 65 and portion 33 of member 32 hasdrilled hole 66 aligned therewith for selective and alternatecomplemental fixing alignment or registrywith drilled hole 67 or 68 orgear portion 25 of handle part 15 by insertion of key or pin '75 throughopening 65, appropriate opening 67 or 68, and opening 66. If pin 75 isinserted through holes 65, 6'7, and 66, the gear portion 25 is inlongitudinal alignment with gear portion 17 and presents a rigid oarmember 14 wherein its parts 14 and 15 are rigid and can not move withrespect to one another, allowing the oarsman to remove the oar in orderto paddle with the oar in canoe fashion for propelling the boat. If par8 or 9 is collapsed in a folded position (FIG. 3), then pin 75 can beinserted into openings 65, 66, 68 to maintain the oar in compact out ofuse position whether the oar 8 or 9 is attached to its respective oarlock and 11 or not.

Either oar construction or device 8 or 9 is assembled to its respectivecarriage or oar lock structure 10 or 11 as follows. The oar unit 8 or 9is held in the hand with pin 75 removed and the key or lever 36 isinserted into keyways 62 such that flats 41, 42 of part 40 and flats 43,44 of parts 45 are vertical with handle parts 37a upright toallow faces41, 42, 43, 44 to pass between faces 58 of parts 54, 55 (as exemplifiedin FIG. 6 for the flat part 45), permitting round shaft 36 to be cradledin crescent shaped surfaces 62 of keyways 56, 57 whence bolt or key 36ispushed forward toward bow of boat and rotated to place handle 37a downinto slot 63, thus locking oar structure 9 to its oarlock'or bracket 11and preventing disengagement of key 36 from keyways 56, 57. By such anarrangement the member 32 of oar structure 11 is allowed to move to andfro and rotate in a vertical plane 1 about shaft or coupler 36 and theoar section can 'pivotally flex .or jacknife in a generally horizontalor a commori'plane with respect tooar section 14 because ofpivotbolt's23 and 28 and meshing of gears 17 and 2.5.

As seen in FIGURE 1 in dotted lines, as handle portion 15 is drawntoward the stern as the operator faces the how, the oar unit has itsouter portion 14 and blade 16 therewith drawn through the water in thesame direction as the handle 15. Since the paddle portion 16 is drawnrearward through the water the boat is propelled forward in thedirection the oarsman is facing as shown by arrows in FIGURE 1.

Since the oar rotated is in vertical planes the face of the blade orpaddle is perpendicular with respect to the surface of the water andthis results in maximum application of rowing force.

Thus what is disclosed here is a novel rowing device or oar unit that isuncomplicated in construction and conducive to manufacture and allowsthe oarsman to face the direciton of rowing and to see in the directionthe boat is moving. In the alternative the oarsman may lock the oarstructure to act as a unitary or integrated rigid oar structure forrearward facing rowing in a conventiorn al manner. This design also aidsthe oarsman in easy manipulation of the oars and permits maximum rowingoutput with a minimum of effort. This design also permits one tocollapse the oars readily and simply for easy and compact storage of theoar when out of use.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of thedevice will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A moredetailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood however, that even though there is herein shownanddescribed a preferred embodiment of the invention the same issusceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of theinvention as herein described and the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A bow facing rowing device for a boat having an oar paddle sectionand an oar handle section, comprising interlocking means on the sectionsengaging one section with the other, link means pivotally connected witheach section providing forward and rearward in unison motion of thesections with respect to. one another in a common plane about an axis ofeach section, mounting means on the boat transverse to the sections, andremovable key means being removably carried on the oar mounting meansand being rotatively and reciprocally movable in the mounting means froma first unlocked position to a second locked position, and the linkmeans being rotatively journalled with the key means in a planetransverse to the key means, said mounting means having a pair of spacedapart grooves, and said key means comprising a member extendingtransversely to said link means and having portions rotatably mounted insaid grooves, each groove having an inner enlarged opening and an outerreduced opening, and said member having a pair of reduced parts eachreduced part being complementally received in the reduced opening of arespective groove in the first position of the key means and having apair of enlarged parts each enlarged part being complementally receivedin the enlarged opening of a respective groove in the second positionofthe key means attendant to locking the sections to the mounting means,and said key means having radial extension means en-. gageable with themounting means in the second position in limiting axial movement of thekey means in the mounting means and preventing withdrawal of the keymeans from the mounting means. I

2. A bow facing rowing device for a boat having an oar paddle sectionand an oar handle section comprising interlocking means on the sectionsengaging one section with the other, link means disposed on the gearsections and pivotally interconnecting the oar sections providing inunison fore and aft motion thereof in a. common plane. oar bracket meansmounted on the boat including a pair of elements spaced apart from oneanother and each element being provided with a groove, oar carriagemeans 5 6 having a pair of members and each member having an ventingWithdrawal of the key means from the mountaperture in registry with arespective groove of the eleing means. ment, and key means removablyextending through the apertures and the grooves and having lockingportions eX- References Cited in the file of this Patent tending in andreciprocally and rotatably extending 5 UNHED STATES PATENTS through theapertures and grooves from a first unlocked 1 position to a secondlocked position attendant to locking i g the elements with the members,and said key means hav- 1 565056 Cervera S 1925 ing radial extensionmeans engageable with the oar brack- 1689714 Bums O i 1928 et means inthe second position in limiting axial move- 10 2051424 Schenk 1936 mentof the key means in the oar bracket means and pre-

2. A BOW FACING ROWING DEVICE FOR A BOAT HAVING AN OAR PADDLE SECTIONAND AN OAR HANDLE SECTION COMPRISING INTERLOCKING MEANS ON THE SECTIONSENGAGING ONE SECTION WITH THE OTHER, LINK MEANS DISPOSED ON THE GEARSECTIONS AND PIVOTALLY INTERCONNECTING THE OAR SECTIONS PROVIDING INUNISON FORE AND AFT MOTION THEREOF IN A COMMON PLANE, OAR BRACKET MEANSMOUNTED ON THE BOAT INCLUDING A PAIR OF ELEMENTS SPACED APART FROM ONEANOTHER AND EACH ELEMENT BEING PROVIDED WITH A GROOVE, OAR CARRIAGEMEANS HAVING A PAIR OF MEMBERS AND EACH MEMBER HAVING AN APERTURE INREGISTRY WITH A RESPECTIVE GROOVE OF THE ELEMENT, AND KEY MEANSREMOVABLY EXTENDING THROUGH THE APERTURES AND THE GROOVES AND HAVINGLOCKING PORTIONS EXTENDING IN AND RECIPROCALLY AND ROTATABLY EXTENDINGTHROUGH THE APERTURES AND GROOVES FROM A FIRST UNLOCKED POSITION TO ASECOND LOCKED POSITION ATTENDANT TO LOCKING THE ELEMENTS WITH THEMEMBERS, AND SAID KEY MEANS HAVING RADIAL EXTENSION MEANS ENGAGEABLEWITH THE OAR BRACKET MEANS IN THE SECOND POSITION IN LIMITING AXIALMOVEMENT OF THE KEY MEANS IN THE OAR BRACKET MEANS AND PREVENTINGWITHDRAWAL OF THE KEY MEANS FROM THE MOUNTING MEANS.